I've been reading a lot of history lately; specifically, a lot of biographies of Alexander the Great (figures, eh?). I tend to pepper my conversation with anecdotes of this or that fascinating historical figure. Many people find that tiresome.

Why? A knowledge of and appreciation for history is probably the single most important scholarly impulse that a person can have. History allows one to step out of his narrow and ignorant age and experience the great civilizations of the past. Nothing forces a man to stand at attention like stories of the great men of the past, particularly when he has the misfortune of living during a thoroughly uninspiring (and even depressing) time such as hours.

We are not civilized. We produce no heroes. It's good for us to remember a time that was better than our own. It gives us a proper perspective on our own strengths, and makes us acutely aware of our own weaknesses.